Break up to make up.

I guess reconciling is the new beef.

This one was a long time coming though. Ever since we saw the promise of Bad Meets Evil on "Scary Movies" and…well, "Bad Meets Evil", hip hop heads eagerly anticipated a full length release from lyrically dexterous duo from the D. Alas, it was not to be as legend has it that Royce's manager ran off at the mouth about his client collecting checks penning verses for Dre. Though the good Doctor's employment of ghost writers has been well documented, apparently it is one of those truths that should not be publicly spoken about. So Royce was relegated to the independent circuit (with mixed results) while Eminem turned into one of the biggest pop stars of the last decade.

I personally maintained for many years that I felt Royce had the skills and persona to become the next Jay-Z. Of course this was back when Jay was just a huge rap star and not the all world magnate he has turned into… and Royce had, even after the Dre debacle, still some semblance of a relationship with his melanin challenged counterpart. Delusions of grandeur hoping for the next hip hop savior maybe (and in retrospect, likely at this point)… but even the staunchest Royce skeptical cannot argue he squandered a lifetime's worth of potential (as can be said of many that were blessed and cursed enough to be connected to Dre's extended family).

But… this very fickle industry very rarely offers second chances. So Royce should embrace it with all aplomb (because let's face it, Em doesn't really need it). Both Bad and Evil may no longer be in their primes… but that's not to say they are incapable of delivering an album's worth of material that hip hop so desperately needs.

And right on cue... here is the first official single...
"Fast Lane"

Source: http://rapradar.com/2011/04/25/eminem-royce-da-59-announce-ep/

Return of the Mac

So no one can't fault Prodigy for getting right back on his grind. Fresh off hitting the bricks, P lets us know his time in the bing was not for naught and presents with an EP of fresh material.

I haven't yet listened to it (I plan on doing that while at the gym tomorrow)… but any true hip hop head would not fault a fellow boom bap aficionado for being skeptical. Let's face it, no one has taken a sixteen from the post-HNIC Prodigy seriously in some time. I don't condone the use if any illicit substances but if I ever missed a dust head, it was definitely that Queensboro teen who threatened to stab your brain with your nosebone.

So let's hold our collective breaths and take a listen to the Ellsworth…
http://hulkshare.com/nw7zeyf69wqo
(props to the good posters at SOHH for providing us with the rip.)

"Welcome home P... let's get this bread..."

There's been many a collabo hip hop fans have wished for that seemed like they would never come to fruition. So it's nice when rappers actually reconcile and come together to produce the art we know they are capable of. And I love hearing Alchemist and Mobb Deep bring the best out of Nas. And he couldn't have put it any better. "Welcome home P."

Download.